FTA announces grants to improve public transportation on tribal lands
The Fiscal Year 2018 grants will support 36 projects in 14 states
FEBRUARY 18, 2019
Image: Federal Transit Administration
The U.S. DOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $5 million in grants to American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments under FTA’s Tribal Transit Program.
The Fiscal Year 2018 grants will support 36 projects in 14 states. “These grants will help American Indian and Alaskan Native tribal governments provide transportation in rural areas to connect tribal residents with jobs, healthcare and other opportunities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao, in a release.
The Tribal Transit Program makes funds available to federally recognized Native American tribes and Alaska Native villages, groups, or communities to support capital projects, operating costs and planning activities for public transportation services on and around tribal lands.
The selected projects will receive fiscal year 2018 program funds. Examples of selected projects include:
- The San Carlos Apache Tribal Council in Arizona will receive funding to purchase buses with accessibility features to replace non-accessible buses that have exceeded their useful life. The transit program, which provides access to jobs and services in Graham, Gila, and Pinal counties, is experiencing ridership increases of 10,000 trips a year;
- The Kenaitze Tribe in Alaska will receive funding to expand administrative operations of its tribal transit program, fulfilling needs for a transportation coordinator and driver. The bus program serves the communities of Kenai, Soldotna, Sterling and other towns—an area covering more than 15,000 sq miles in rural Alaska; and
- The Seneca Nation of Indians in New York will receive funding to construct a bus facility for maintenance and to shelter vehicles from harsh weather conditions.
FTA received 50 proposals requesting $8.3 million from 47 tribes in 16 states for Fiscal Year 2018 Tribal Transit Discretionary funding.
In addition to the $5 million in competitive funding announced, $30 million in formula funding is provided to tribes each fiscal year through the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.
———-
Source: Federal Transit Administration
Fiscal Year 2018 Tribal Transit Competitive Projects
| State | Project Sponsor |
Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| AK | Native Village of Buckland | The Native Village of Buckland will receive funding to initiate transit service to provide greater access to jobs, school, healthcare and other services. | $262,884 |
| AK | Chickaloon Native Village | Chickaloon Native Village will receive funding to purchase a transit vehicle to replace a bus that has exceeded its useful life, helping the agency provide access to jobs and services in nearby Anchorage. | $59,400 |
| AK | Healy Lake Village Council (d.b.a. Mendas Cha-Ag Tribe) | The Healy Lake Village Council Tribe will receive funding for a planning study to initiate transit service in the Healy Lake area. | $25,000 |
| AK | Ninilchik Village Tribe | The Ninilchik Village Tribe will receive funding to supplement its locally funded transit service, which connects people to jobs, school, healthcare and shopping in the central Kenai Peninsula. | $255,000 |
| AK | Hydaburg Cooperative Association | The Hydaburg Cooperative Association will receive funding to purchase a multi-use ferry boat that will provide both emergency transportation and transit services between the island and community of Ketchikan to access jobs, healthcare and other services. | $188,100 |
| AK | Kenaitze Indian Tribe | The Kenaitze Indian Tribe will receive funding to hire transit staff to expand its public transit program throughout the central Kenai Peninsula. | $238,054 |
| AK | Ketchikan Indian Community | The Ketchikan Indian Community will receive funding to purchase a bus to supplement a vehicle that is approaching the end of its useful life, allowing the agency to increase its ridership and provide an essential service throughout Ketchikan Gateway Borough. | $90,750 |
| AK | Ketchikan Indian Community | The Ketchikan Indian Community will receive funding for transit planning that will help meet increasing demand from elderly and tribal members with disabilities to access healthcare, shopping and other services. | $25,000 |
| AK | Ruby Tribal Council | The Ruby Tribal Council will receive funding for a planning study to initiate transit service in and around Ruby. | $25,000 |
| AK | Seldovia Village Tribe | The Seldovia Village Tribe will receive funding to replace the Seldovia Bay ferry dock, helping maintain its only public transportation system as well as freight services between Seldovia and Homer. | $299,937 |
| AK | Sitka Tribe of Alaska | The Sitka Tribe of Alaska will receive funding to purchase a bus to replace a vehicle that has exceeded its useful life, improving access for The RIDE bus passengers to access jobs, school, healthcare and ferry service in and around Sitka, about 95 miles from Juneau. | $300,000 |
| AK | Village of Venetie | The Village of Venetie will receive funding for a planning study to initiate transit service approximately 150 miles from Fairbanks. | $25,000 |
| AZ | San Carlos Apache Tribal Council | The San Carlos Apache Tribal Council will receive funding to purchase vehicles that will replace older vans that have exceeded their useful life, helping residents in Graham, Gila and Pinal counties access jobs and services. | $297,000 |
| AZ | Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians | The Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians will receive funding to replace a transit vehicle that has exceeded its useful life, helping residents access healthcare and other services in nearby southern Utah. | $36,250 |
| AZ | Quechan Indian Tribe | The Quechan Indian Tribe will receive funding to purchase and install bus shelters at some bus stops along its transit routes, improving passenger safety and route visibility and encouraging ridership. | $70,000 |
| IA | Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi | The Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi will receive funding to develop a transit plan to serve the Meskwaki community in rural Central Iowa focused on tribal elders, children and residents with disabilities. | $25,000 |
| ID | Nez Perce Tribe | The Nez Perce Tribe will receive funding to purchase buses to replace transit vehicles that have exceeded their userful life, improving service to areas on and near the Nez Perce Reservation for jobs, schools, healthcare and other services. | $300,000 |
| ID | Shoshone-Bannock Tribes | The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, helping maintain and expand service to jobs, services and schools, including Idaho State University. | $189,000 |
| MA | Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe | The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, helping expand transit service throughout Cape Cod. | $135,000 |
| MT | Chippewa Cree Tribe | The Chippewa Cree Tribe will receive funding to purchase and install bus shelters throughout the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation to shield passengers from severe weather and improve efficiency by centralizing transit stops. | $88,465 |
| ND | Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians | The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, helping continue transit service to jobs, school and community services. | $144,000 |
| NV | Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe | The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe will receive funding to initiative transit service, a daily service providing access to work, healthcare and other services in northern rural Nevada. | $115,534 |
| NY | Seneca Nation of Indians | The Seneca Nation of Indians will receive funding to build a storage facility to house its bus fleet, which links isolated communities to jobs and services as part of a growing regional public transportation network. | $270,000 |
| OK | Cherokee Nation | The Cherokee Nation will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, continuing transportation services on 10 commuter routes that link to jobs, healthcare and other community services. | $281,250 |
| OK | Otoe-Missouria Tribe | The Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians will receive funding to initiate transit service and provide rides for tribal and community members to work, healthcare and other community services in Noble and Kay counties. | $137,250 |
| OK | United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians | The United Keetoowash Band of Cherokee Indians will receive funding to purchase transit vans to expand its service throughout 14 counties in north central Oklahoma focused on access to jobs, school, healthcare and other community services. | $150,000 |
| OR | Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde | The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde will receive funding to initiate a new transit route that will expand service to new communities. | $250,000 |
| SD | Oglala Sioux Tribe | The Oglala Sioux Tribe will receive funding to update its short-term transit plan to evaluate its current level of service, which spans seven routes and 1,800 miles a day. | $25,000 |
| WA | Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation | The Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, responding to increased demand on its four bus routes. | $41,000 |
| WA | Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe | The Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe will receive funding to purchase vehicles to expand its bus shuttle program to full time, providing additional transit service and connections to regional transit systems in Snohomish and Skagit counties. | $126,087 |
| WA | Spokane Tribe of Indians | The Spokane Tribe of Indians will receive funding to purchase buses to replace transit vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, providing access to essential services and connecting the reservation with eastern Washington communities. | $129,472 |
| WA | Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians | The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians of Washington will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, continuing a program to support access to jobs, healthcare and community services. | $117,000 |
| WA | Swinomish Indian Tribal Community | The Swinomish Indian Tribal Council will receive funding for a feasibility study to assess expanding transit services to rural areas of Skagit County, which would add connections to jobs, schools and services. | $25,000 |
| WA | Tulalip Tribes of Washington | The Tulalip Tribes of Washington will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, supporting access to essential services including jobs and healthcare. | $120,152 |
| WI | Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians | The Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians will receive funding to replace and renovate aging bus shelters, improving safety for passengers. | $41,443 |
| WI | Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin | The Menominee Indian Tribe will receive funding to purchase buses to replace vehicles that have exceeded their useful life, expanding access to jobs, school, healthcare and other government services throughout 30 counties. | $90,000 |
| Total Funding | $4,998,028 | ||
Updated: Wednesday, February 13, 2019